Will Linux run on an HP m7680n?

Wed Apr 18 16:43:01 UTC 2007

| From: Lennart Sorensen <lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org>

| On Wed, Apr 18, 2007 at 12:39:19AM -0400, Kevin Cozens wrote:

| My experience with emachines (since a few friends have bought them), is
| that the quality is really as bad as people say it is.

I've had behaviour "above expectations" from eMachines.  Inexpensive,
little support, work OK.

But maybe I'm not critical enough.  I like my consumer HP boxes better
than eMachines.  In fact, I like my HP boxes a lot because they seem
to work, are cheap, and are quieter than any boxes that I've built.

I buy machines very opportunistically.  My current (HP) desktop turns out
to have been a Staples price error.  My previous (HP) desktop was a
"debranded" refurb from Computer Warehouse Outlet (since renamed) at a
ridiculously low price.  All my eMachines were Boxing Day specials at
Future Shop, except for the one I just got by catching it before it
would have been crunched at a City of Toronto Environment Day.

Here is an apparently interesting deal on now if you want a Core 2 Duo
system:  refurb Gateway, cheap, at Tiger Direct.

  http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2912886&sku=G153-GT5238E
  http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/1009189/1009189sp2.shtml

- half the price of the HP.

- Half the RAM, half the disk space, slower processor

- integrated Intel video, but the x3000 which might be good for an
  integrated chipset.  Has VGA and DVI-I out (not common with
  integrated video).  It is said to support HDCP which is, uh,
  interesting (surely only under Vista, and yet this system does not
  come with Vista; might be a lie).  Why pay for a discrete card that
  you are going to toss?

- 2 x PCI, PCIe x16, PCIe x1

- WinXP

You may have to pay for shipping, i.e. it may not be available
in-store.

TD sometimes has interesting stuff, but my level of trust isn't high.

I have no experience with Gateway products.  Refurb is more of a risk
(short warranty).

For a much lower price, every once in a while, you can get a brand new
Athlon 64 system from Dell.  But you have to be willing to take their
low-end loss-leader.  When you configure reasonable extras, the price
generally grows disproportionately (who would make a desktop system
with 80G hard drives these days??).

| > The last three times I've bought a machine off the shelf (or had one made 
| > to my specs) they cost me around $3,000. I have been looking at Dell 
| > machines. The starting prices are good but by the time I customize it I was 
| > up around $2800. More recently, Dell machines price out at a bit over 
| > $2,000. This HP with its features for only a touch over $1,000 seems like a 
| > bargain.

Prices really have come done.  Even more for notebooks than for
desktops.  For many people, it now makes more sense to buy a "desktop
replacement" notebook than a desktop.

Very roughly: I used to spend $2500 on computers.  Now I spend $700.
(Last year I spent most of the difference on a monitor and the
necessary video card.  That was cutting edge and fun.  The price
would be perhaps a third lower now.)

I think that it is reasonable (not fun) to buy PCs that are not quite
cutting edge.  It may or may not shave a year off the ultimate life of
the machine but it often cuts as much as half off the cost.

| > The modem and WiFi I'll probably pull out. I don't need them.

The modem is surely a writeoff.  The WiFi is probably part of the
price you are paying -- the machine should be cheaper without it.

We use our SCSI scanner because it can scan legal-size documents.  None
of the consumer scanners now seem to do that.  Kevin might have other
reasons.

We also have a slide scanner that uses SCSI.  It lost Windows support
when WinXP came out.  Works in Linux.

| > This is definitely a plus! This machine is the last machine in the store 
| > that does not come with Vista. I won't touch Vista. I've read the EULA and 
| > won't accept it.
| 
| Have you read the one for XP SP2?  Which part makes you accept XP SP2
| but not Vista?

Although BIOS updates are infrequent from HP, they do happen.  And
they require MS Windows to install them :-(.  Dell seems to make
theirs possible to install from DOS.

|  Intel is generally
| quite decent for supporting linux and getting things working.

Yes.  That makes the most difference in notebooks.  Notebook video and
wireless are minefields (hard to swap them out!) and Intel seems to be
the best bet.  But even with Intel you cannot assume compatibility.
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